The safe storage of small valuables has always been of considerable concern. While there are many safes on the market, most are expensive and difficult to install and require considerable space. The present invention solves the problem of safe storage of valuables by providing an easy to install lock box. Moreover, the invention's design makes the lock box highly tamper-resistant. The invention's utility is augmented by its simple construction, which allows the device to be manufactured inexpensively, therefore putting it within the easy financial reach of the home owner, small businessperson, or anyone else who considers the safe storage of small valuables a priority.
Various other lock type boxes have been described in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,985,869 to Millice describes a "temporary safe". However, its use is essentially for deployment in stores or theaters, where the services of the safe can be rented, and is not for personal use as in the present invention. As such, the device in Millice differs in structure from the present invention because it contains additional components and hardware that make Millice more expensive to manufacture and complicated to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,067 to Sears and U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,031 to Watson both disclose a manner for removably attaching and locking a box to a surface such as a wall or floor, but differs in structure and function from the present invention because the locking mechanisms in Sears and Watson secure the boxes to a wall, floor or other stationary surface, whereas the locking mechanism in the present invention locks the cover of the container to the base of the container which is immovable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,240 to Hungerford discloses a portable lock box. However, Hungerford differs from the present invention in that it is intended to be a portable rather than stationary lock box. Furthermore, the cover is attached to the security container via radially projecting locking pins at the bottom of the sides of the cover which fit into slots in the side of the container, which the present invention renders unnecessary.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,317 to Franko, et al., also discloses a lock type box, but differs from the present invention in that it relies on a different manner of securing the top of the box to the bottom of the box, in particular, a cavity/groove mechanism that the present invention does not need to incorporate.